In order to replace fatty acids from palm oil and coconut oil, researchers at Goethe University Frankfurt have reprogrammed the enzyme fatty acid synthase so that it can produce tailor-made fatty acids of any chain length for industrial use. The technology has already been patented, according to Goethe University. Now it is to be advanced with industry partners. The aim is to reduce the use of palm oil and coconut oil, as their extraction drives the clearing of rainforests. Whether this will succeed now depends on successful scaling with industry partners.

Two interventions lead to success

Fatty acid synthase is a kind of molecular assembly line in nature that builds fatty acids in all living organisms, reports the team led by Professor Martin Grininger from Goethe University. The enzyme produces palmitic acid with 16 carbon atoms, which serves as a building block for cell membranes and energy storage. However, industry needs shorter variants with six to 14 carbon atoms. Two targeted modifications to the enzyme now enable shorter chains to be produced instead of the usual 16-carbon chains. In collaboration with a partner laboratory in China, the modified fatty acid synthase has been introduced into yeast strains in order to sustainably produce industrially sought-after ingredients in a bioreactor. "The advantage lies in the very precise control of the chain length," says Grininger. "We can now produce any chain length and demonstrate this using the example of a fatty acid that is otherwise only obtained from palm kernels or coconuts."

Cooperation with industry partners planned

PhD student Damian Ludig used protein engineering for the process, in which individual amino acids are exchanged or entire protein regions are modified. "Two changes led to the desired result," explains Ludig. The collaboration with Professor Yongjin Zhou from the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics at the Chinese Academy of Sciences brought about the breakthrough. Supported by the German Research Foundation and the Chinese National Natural Science Foundation, Zhou and his laboratory succeeded in developing yeast strains that produce fatty acids with twelve instead of 16 carbon atoms. "Our development has taken place without industry involvement so far, but we are now seeking to collaborate with an industrial partner to bring the technology into application," says Grininger.

Source: Goethe University Frankfurt